Input and output locality and representation

Abstract

Using a rigorous, computational notion of locality, this paper evaluates one of the central motivations for autosegmental representations (ARs)—that they reduce long-distance processes to local ones. We analyze a variety of tone processes using two computational notions of locality: input strict locality as defined by Chandlee (2014) and Chandlee & Jardine (2019a) and a corresponding notion of output strict locality we call recursive strict locality. The results of our survey add to our understanding of the typology of tone patterns and the role of ARs in two key ways. First, they indicate that both input and output locality play a role in a comprehensive theory of tone. Second, they reveal the various mechanisms by which ARs render long-distance patterns local by disentangling the various properties these representations combine. The larger contribution then is a more detailed and nuanced exploration of the interaction of representation, locality, and computational complexity in the domain of tonal phonology.